Latest news with #FranzJoseph
Vancouver Sun
3 days ago
- Vancouver Sun
Volunteers battling to save Romania's cultural treasures
Baile Herculane, Romania — Graffiti covers the crumbling walls of the main thermal baths in one of Europe's oldest spa towns. But after decades of neglect, a group of young architects is working to restore the picturesque Romanian resort that once attracted emperors. 'Someone once said that if you drink water from the spring from Herculane, you never leave,' said 31-year-old architect Oana Chirila. 'I was struck by the beauty of the place,' she said of the town in the southwest of the country, surrounded by mountains and crossed by a river. Plan your next getaway with Travel Time, featuring travel deals, destinations and gear. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Travel Time will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. 'And at the same time shocked by its condition,' she said of the decrepit state of the old thermal baths. She first stumbled upon Baile Herculane eight years ago, purely by chance, she said. Her group's restoration efforts here are just one of several recent civil society initiatives launched to protect some of Romania's historic monuments. An estimated 800 of them are in an advanced state of decay or in danger of crumbling altogether. Some of those are already considered to represent a danger to the public. The neglect is the result of Romania's chaotic transition from Communism to democracy, which was marked by opaque privatizations, often resulting in interminable legal battles and investigations by anti-corruption prosecutors. Built in 1886, the Neptune Imperial Baths attracted illustrious clients in its heyday, with its warm sulphur treatments. They included Austria's Emperor Franz Joseph and his wife Elisabeth, popularly known as Sisi. Franz Joseph described the town as Europe's 'most beautiful spa resort'. Now the baths are closed, their interior walls covered in graffiti, rubble on the floor and rain leaking in. Despite the decay, tourists still frequently stop to marvel at and photograph the long, rusty facade, some trying to peek inside through the broken windows. For the moment, Chirila and her team of volunteers are confined to doing conservation work on the baths' outer structure. They could not restore the building until legal disputes between the authorities and the private owners are solved, she explained, adding: 'There's always this fear that it might collapse.' 'Most of the historical monuments are in their current state –- meaning constant decay –- because they are legally blocked,' preventing any use of public or European funds for their restoration. For the moment then, along one side of the riverbank, people take dips in three basins with sulphur water — dubbed 'little bathtubs' by Chirila. It was her team that refurbished the basins and built the changing booths and wooden pavilions, one of a number of projects they have undertaken in the town. When AFP met her, about a dozen students were helping out with the renovation of a path through the woods. In recent years, Baile Herculane, a town of 3,800, has seen a steady rise in tourists, say local officials. Some 160,000 tourists came in 2024 — up from 90,000 in 2020 — many for spa treatments, but also for the hiking and climbing. 'The resort has changed,' Aura Zidarita, 50, a doctor, told AFP. She remained hopeful it could once again become a 'pearl of Europe'. Initiatives such as Chirila's have multiplied in recent years, according to Stefan Balici, president of the Romanian Order of Architects. They represent 'a lesson in how citizens' initiatives can intervene in heritage preservation', in a country with little record of investing in the restoration of its monuments. In 2019, young architects got involved in another spa resort, Baile Govora. Chirila admitted she sometimes feared her work on the Imperial Baths is like 'putting a bandage on a patient in sepsis'. But Balici had no doubt of its value. Without her intervention, he said, the building would be 'a pile of rubble' by now. Chirila said she also drew hope from those like herself who believed in investing in the country's heritage. 'Herculane ended up like this because of corruption,' she said. 'But we hope that thanks to good people it will heal.'
Sharjah 24
3 days ago
- Sharjah 24
The volunteers battling to save Romania's cultural treasures
But after decades of neglect, a group of young architects is working to restore the picturesque Romanian resort that once attracted emperors. "Someone once said that if you drink water from the spring from Herculane, you never leave," said 31-year-old architect Oana Chirila. "I was struck by the beauty of the place," she said of the town in the southwest of the country, surrounded by mountains and crossed by a river. "And at the same time shocked by its condition," she said of the decrepit state of the old thermal baths. She first stumbled upon Baile Herculane eight years ago, purely by chance, she said. Her group's restoration efforts here are just one of several recent civil society initiatives launched to protect some of Romania's historic monuments. An estimated 800 of them are in an advanced state of decay or in danger of crumbling altogether. Some of those are already considered to represent a danger to the public. The neglect is the result of Romania's chaotic transition from Communism to democracy, which was marked by opaque privatisations, often resulting in interminable legal battles and investigations by anti-corruption prosecutors. Imperial history Built in 1886, the Neptune Imperial Baths attracted illustrious clients in its heyday, with its warm sulphur treatments. They included Austria's Emperor Franz Joseph and his wife Elisabeth, popularly known as Sisi. Franz Joseph described the town as Europe's "most beautiful spa resort". Now the baths are closed, their interior walls covered in graffiti, rubble on the floor and rain leaking in. Despite the decay, tourists still frequently stop to marvel at and photograph the long, rusty facade, some trying to peek inside through the broken windows. For the moment, Chirila and her team of volunteers are confined to doing conservation work on the baths' outer structure. They could not restore the building until legal disputes between the authorities and the private owners are solved, she explained, adding: "There's always this fear that it might collapse." "Most of the historical monuments are in their current state –- meaning constant decay –- because they are legally blocked," preventing any use of public or European funds for their restoration. For the moment then, along one side of the riverbank, people take dips in three basins with sulphur water -- dubbed "little bathtubs" by Chirila. It was her team that refurbished the basins and built the changing booths and wooden pavilions, one of a number of projects they have undertaken in the town. When AFP met her, about a dozen students were helping out with the renovation of a path through the woods. Vital intervention In recent years, Baile Herculane, a town of 3,800, has seen a steady rise in tourists, say local officials. Some 160,000 tourists came in 2024 -- up from 90,000 in 2020 -- many for spa treatments, but also for the hiking and climbing. "The resort has changed," Aura Zidarita, 50, a doctor, told AFP. She remained hopeful it could once again become a "pearl of Europe". Initiatives such as Chirila's have multiplied in recent years, according to Stefan Balici, president of the Romanian Order of Architects. They represent "a lesson in how citizens' initiatives can intervene in heritage preservation", in a country with little record of investing in the restoration of its monuments. In 2019, young architects got involved in another spa resort, Baile Govora. Chirila admitted she sometimes feared her work on the Imperial Baths is like "putting a bandage on a patient in sepsis". But Balici had no doubt of its value. Without her intervention, he said, the building would be "a pile of rubble" by now. Chirila said she also drew hope from those like herself who believed in investing in the country's heritage. "Herculane ended up like this because of corruption," she said. "But we hope that thanks to good people it will heal."
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Yahoo
The volunteers battling to save Romania's cultural treasures
Graffiti covers the crumbling walls of the main thermal baths in one of Europe's oldest spa towns. But after decades of neglect, a group of young architects is working to restore the picturesque Romanian resort that once attracted emperors. "Someone once said that if you drink water from the spring from Herculane, you never leave," said 31-year-old architect Oana Chirila. "I was struck by the beauty of the place," she said of the town in the southwest of the country, surrounded by mountains and crossed by a river. "And at the same time shocked by its condition," she said of the decrepit state of the old thermal baths. She first stumbled upon Baile Herculane eight years ago, purely by chance, she said. Her group's restoration efforts here are just one of several recent civil society initiatives launched to protect some of Romania's historic monuments. An estimated 800 of them are in an advanced state of decay or in danger of crumbling altogether. Some of those are already considered to represent a danger to the public. The neglect is the result of Romania's chaotic transition from Communism to democracy, which was marked by opaque privatisations, often resulting in interminable legal battles and investigations by anti-corruption prosecutors. - Imperial history - Built in 1886, the Neptune Imperial Baths attracted illustrious clients in its heyday, with its warm sulphur treatments. They included Austria's Emperor Franz Joseph and his wife Elisabeth, popularly known as Sisi. Franz Joseph described the town as Europe's "most beautiful spa resort". Now the baths are closed, their interior walls covered in graffiti, rubble on the floor and rain leaking in. Despite the decay, tourists still frequently stop to marvel at and photograph the long, rusty facade, some trying to peek inside through the broken windows. For the moment, Chirila and her team of volunteers are confined to doing conservation work on the baths' outer structure. They could not restore the building until legal disputes between the authorities and the private owners are solved, she explained, adding: "There's always this fear that it might collapse." "Most of the historical monuments are in their current state –- meaning constant decay –- because they are legally blocked," preventing any use of public or European funds for their restoration. For the moment then, along one side of the riverbank, people take dips in three basins with sulphur water -- dubbed "little bathtubs" by Chirila. It was her team that refurbished the basins and built the changing booths and wooden pavilions, one of a number of projects they have undertaken in the town. When AFP met her, about a dozen students were helping out with the renovation of a path through the woods. - Vital intervention - In recent years, Baile Herculane, a town of 3,800, has seen a steady rise in tourists, say local officials. Some 160,000 tourists came in 2024 -- up from 90,000 in 2020 -- many for spa treatments, but also for the hiking and climbing. "The resort has changed," Aura Zidarita, 50, a doctor, told AFP. She remained hopeful it could once again become a "pearl of Europe". Initiatives such as Chirila's have multiplied in recent years, according to Stefan Balici, president of the Romanian Order of Architects. They represent "a lesson in how citizens' initiatives can intervene in heritage preservation", in a country with little record of investing in the restoration of its monuments. In 2019, young architects got involved in another spa resort, Baile Govora. Chirila admitted she sometimes feared her work on the Imperial Baths is like "putting a bandage on a patient in sepsis". But Balici had no doubt of its value. Without her intervention, he said, the building would be "a pile of rubble" by now. Chirila said she also drew hope from those like herself who believed in investing in the country's heritage. "Herculane ended up like this because of corruption," she said. "But we hope that thanks to good people it will heal." ani/jza/jj/jhb
Yahoo
28-03-2025
- Yahoo
Senior Living: Welcome to my hometown
Unlike some of my friends who never left the town or even the street of their childhood, I came a long way from my hometown. Now living in Montreal, I was born and spent the first almost 20 years of my life in Budapest, the capital city of Hungary. Let me introduce you to my hometown and some of its attractions. Budapest is a fairly new city, created in 1873 through the amalgamation of the towns of Buda, Pest and Obuda. Buda and Pest lie on either side of the Danube which divides the two cities, spanned by several bridges. Buda is the older of the two, hilly, historic and picturesque, while Pest, flat, and the commercial and entertainment centre of town, is more recent. Some of the inhabitants of Buda sort of look down their noses on the inhabitants of Pest, considering themselves just a shade superior. Well, nevertheless, I proudly consider myself a Pest (pronounced 'Pesht') girl as I was born and lived my life in that part of town and was always somewhat unfamiliar in the surroundings of Buda. My parents and I lived in a three-storey apartment building on a tree-lined street not far from City Park with its lovely gardens, paths and artificial lake which was turned into a skating rink in the winter. At the end of our street stood a Catholic church, which I often visited and which was torn down to erect a statue of Stalin during the Communist-era years. Now the statue, too, is gone and the space is empty. There were a few places I liked to visit as a young student and revisited on subsequent return trips to my hometown. One of these is the Hungarian State Opera House on Andrassy Avenue. Opened in 1884, it was designed to rival in grandeur the opera houses of Paris and Vienna. Horse-drawn carriages and later cars would stop under an ornate portico to deposit their passengers who would then climb a sweeping red-carpeted marble staircase under the gaze of cherubs and mythical figures. One could just imagine the Emperor Franz Joseph, also King of Hungary, chatting in the silk-panelled room adjoining the royal box. In my youth, I had a behind-the-scenes view of the opera as my best friend Marika was the daughter of Rozsi Walter, one of the stars of the Hungarian opera. The villa the family lived in on Bajza Street — a unique example of modernist architecture built in 1936 — is now open to the public. Not far from the opera house is a district known as the Broadway of Budapest featuring several theatres. My favourite was and is the Operetta Theater where both traditional works and modern musicals are on the playbill. On the classical side, a short walk gets you to the Liszt Academy of Music, the venerable institution — both educational and performing — founded 150 years ago by the great composer Franz (Ferenc) Liszt. Its concert hall, both ornate yet intimate and with excellent acoustics has welcomed the world's greatest musicians and the music is still going strong. As well, these days, culture has moved a bit away from downtown where the Palace of Arts and the National Theatre are located. Following in the footsteps of Franz Liszt brings us to one of my favourite sightseeing stops. Located in the building of the former Academy of Music is the apartment where the great composer and pianist lived and taught in his later years. Now a museum, it is dominated by a life-size portrait of the composer and features the piano he used. The small concert hall next to the apartment is still in use. These are just a few of my favourite stops in Budapest and there is so much more to see and do in the Hungarian capital. I hope someday you will put my hometown on your travel agenda and enjoy true Magyar hospitality. — Alice Lukacs writes the Life in the 90s column
